WIP Wednesday!

Oh, WIP Wednesday, I've missed you! After a few weeks off, I realize how much I rely on Lee's link-up to keep track of my projects.



Finished:
Scrappy Triangles for do. Good Stitches



More here.

Starry bee blocks


More here.

Hexing Around the Block for Rene

Tutorial by Lee
freshlypieced.blogspot.com/2011/05/hexing-around-block.html

In progress
4x5 Bee blocks
I don't know why I'm dragging my feet on this one. They need to be in the mail by January 15. I'm not working on anything else until these are done.

Scrap Attack quilt-along

I'm very grateful for Rachel's Scrap Attack quilt-along. If this didn't come along, I'd surely end up on Hoarders: Buried Alive. This is my tub of shame--my scraps are all crammed in there, completely unorganized. I'm going to start pulling out scraps, cutting tumbler shapes using my Go! Baby die, and sewing them together randomly. I'm actually pretty excited about this!

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Kaleidoscope baby quilt #2
Fabricland

To do:
LynneBob block for VIBeees
Drunkard's Path Quilt-Along

I'm not sure if Lee is hosting her link-up today, but if so, I'm linking up!

Seeing stars

I'm getting caught up/getting a jump-start on my quilt bee blocks. Evidently, stars are "in."


Cherie sent us beautiful Secret Garden fabric to make Carpenter's Star blocks using her own tutorial. I love the way this turned out, and it makes a huge (18 inches) block.


For the Peace circle of do. Good Stitches in December, we made the Ring of Sars block using Angela's tutorial. These are adorable and fun to make, but I can't say I'll be making another anytime soon. SO many tiny pieces!


For do. Good Stitches in January, we're making 4-, 8-, and 12-inch stars for a quilt inspired by the Oh My Stars quilt-along. I used this tutorial for Sawtooth Stars at Thought and Found. I love the way these are put together. Very clever.


This is my 12-inch star. I used Becky's Sunrise Star tutorial, and I think this might be my new favorite block!

Scrappy New Year!

Hope you're having a great start to 2012! We rang in the New Year with football, basketball (go Hoosiers!), and more football before falling asleep on the couch while watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes. That's right, things got pretty crazy up in here.


I technically finished this quilt before midnight, but as I didn't pull it out of the dryer until 1/1, I'm counting it as the first finish of 2012. Big thanks to the ladies of the Peace Circle of do. Good Stitches for putting these blocks together. I gave them this for color inspiration (from Design Seeds):


And the Scrappy Triangles tutorial from Ashley/Film in the Fridge. This is a fun block and a great way to bust through some scraps! The Peace Circle sends quilts to My Very Own Blanket (an organization that provides quilts for children in foster care), and I thought this combination would make a sophisticated quilt for an older girl.


The quilt top came out a little small and squarish, so I added some strips to the top and bottom. I think these strips add to the preppy vibe of the quilt.


I'm a big fan of Megan's wavy organic quilting, so I gave it a try on this quilt (she gives instructions here). I admit I struggled with this a little at first--I was worried that my lines might not look organic enough and instead would just look like I can't sew in a straight line (insecurities, anyone?). I kind of exaggerated the waves, and I LOVE the finished look! I think it goes nicely with the nautical feel of this quilt.


For the back, I used this zinnia print from the Flights of Fancy line by Paula Prass that I had been hoarding saving for the right project. I added the pink and green prints from Mod Green Pod by Nancy Mims and the awesome gray print from Wildwood by Erin McMorris to make it big enough.


I used Kona Grass for the binding, and I gave Rachel's Zig-Zag Binding Tutorial a try for the first time. There are a few rough spots, but overall I'm happy with it!


Big thanks to my Peace Circle friends for helping with this quilt!


I can't wait to send it off to its new home.

Lucky me!

I was so excited to find out I won a giveaway from Jen/BettyCrockerAss! This awesome pouch was waiting for me when I got home from my Christmas travels.



But that's not all! Jen filled the pouch with fabric, thread, and rickrack (oh, my!).




Love that hand-stitching. Thanks so much, Jen!!

P.S. I pulled my do. Good Stitches quilt from the dryer this morning. Pictures soon!

2011: A very quilty year

Here they are: My quilts of 2011. I'm sure we can all agree that 26 is a perfectly reasonable number of quilts to make in a year. Moving on.

I don't think I could pick a favorite, but the Houndstooth quilt is definitely toward the top.

So, what does 2012 have in store? First on my list is finishing my do. Good Stitches quilt, and then I have some bee blocks to tackle. After that, I really want to finish up my Fabricland and Postage Stamp quilts. A few quilt-alongs have caught my eye (Megan and Jeni's Sparkle quilt-along is definitely a go).


I'd like to try some more hand-stitching. I embroidered this little bird for my mom (whose name is Robin), and really enjoyed it. (Pattern by Aneela.)

More generally, I'd like to slow down a little bit and be a little more adventurous with my sewing.

I've been away from my sewing machine for a while (my son asked me several times why I didn't pack it), so it's time to get reacquainted!

Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours.

Wrapping it up.

I had a few too many "fall asleep on the couch at 9 p.m. while watching Storage Wars" nights this week, so it was time to kick in to productivity mode.


I unrolled a Rouenneries honey bun to make this composition book cover (tutorial by V and Co).


Made PJ pants for Luke using leftover Batman flannel and Dana's tutorial.


Last year, I made a voile and velveteen Figure 8 scarf using Anna Maria Horner's tutorial. She used 18-inch-wide fabric, and it looks really cute in her pictures. It made me look like a velveteen turtle. After seeing skinnier versions popping up online (most recently by Krista and Angela), I decided to cut it in half and make two 9-inch scarves. Better. (Photo courtesy of the 4-year-old)


Finished up this little owl. (Pattern from the Holiday 2010 issue of Knit Simple.)


More of these.


And more of these.


And some Santa hat brownies for the preschool Christmas party.

*This post is bought to you by Diet Coke.

In print.

Those are my quilts*, all cozied up next to a cute pup. They were photographed for a little article on "The New Quilting Craze." For more, you'll have to pick up the January issue of Southern Living magazine.


*Except for the one on the bottom--that one isn't mine.

Spiky

I'm trying to add a few handmade gifts for Luke's Advent calendar. He loves dinosaurs, so I made him this little guy using the Dilbert pattern by Melly and Me. I used some leftover corduroy and scraps I had on hand. Turning the spikes right side out proved tricky, and my blanket stitching needs practice, but I think he's pretty cute anyway.


Luke says "spikysaurus" instead of "stegosaurus," and I love it. I think Spiky will be well-loved.

Run, run, as fast as you can!

My friend Stephanie has a raucous ornament swap party each year. This year, the theme was gingerbread men. I found this tutorial from Elsie Marley and couldn't resist.


My husband thinks I'm "disturbed."


I think it's pretty funny (perhaps that makes me disturbed?).


Reminds me of this...

Happy little bags

I didn't finish most of the items on my weekend to-do list, but I did make these little bags!


These are the Ruched Happy Bags. The pattern is by Amy of During Quiet Time (available here). It's a great pattern with clear, easy-to-follow instructions.


Shoot...kind of want to keep this one for myself.


Kind of want to keep this one too. Must. Buy. Zippers.


I think these zipper ends are my career-best!

Two more gifts marked off the list.

1 yard of ruffle fabric.

Vanessa of V and Co has posted some really cute tutorials using ruffle fabric, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! Here's what I made out of one yard (it's 54 inches wide).

First, I wanted to try the ruffle tote. So I made two.


This one is for me.


The lining is my favorite Heirloom print.


The second one is for [name redacted]. The lining is actually purple in real life.


I made the flowers using Vanessa's Flower Corsage tutorial.

After making those, I had just enough fabric left to make a ruffle scarf.

Kindly excuse the weird self-portrait.
I had to fudge it a bit and cut my strips at 12 inches instead of 14, but it works just as well! Not bad for 1 yard of fabric!

The ruffle fabric is definitely a little different to work with. It's very stretchy, so cutting it accurately is hard. But that stretchiness also makes it very forgiving. If you can keep your ruffles out of your seams, you're in good shape. I'm interested to see how it holds up with use, but I'm happy for now, and I marked someone off my Christmas list!

Happy December!

I accidentally made an extra block for my Christmas quilt, so I turned it into this mini. I did a little loopy quilting in the white space. I had just enough candy cane binding left over from my Christmas quilt to bind this one too.

Are you in the Christmas spirit yet? I think I am! It's hard not to be when you're around a 4-year-old. The Advent calendar comes out today, and the Elf on the shelf wil make his first appearance We are officially in countdown mode!

WIP Wednesday

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! I had a week off of work and actually marked some projects off my list. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't cooperated for any picture-taking, so I'll be back soon with those.



Finished:
Christmas Quilt

Holly Jolly. Details here.

Christmas PJs for Luke



I had some extra flannel from the back of my Christmas quilt to make Luke a pair of PJ pants.(He would only pose for pictures if he could do some Ninja moves. Diva.) I used Dana's instructions for making your own pattern. Not perfect, but they're wearable, and he proclaimed them "cozy." I have some leftover Batman flannel from the back of his superhero quilt, and I wanted to try out the pattern before I made those.

Ruffle totes
Done! Details soon.

Christmas mini

Done! I had one extra block from my Christmas quilt, and I turned it into a mini. Pictures if/when the sun comes out.


In progress
Stegosaurus
Done...just need to finish it off with some blanket stitches. First, need to learn how to blanket stitch.

Superhero Alphabet Sampler

I got this awesome Superhero Alphabet Cross-Stitch Sampler from Wee Little Stitches. I started in the middle with M for Martian Manhunter (as if you didn't know). This is going to be a long-term project, much to Luke's dismay.

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Postage Stamp quilt
Kaleidoscope baby quilt #2
Fabricland

To do:
Ruffle totes
Journal cover
Drunkard's Path Quilt-Along
Zippy pouches
Stegosaurus
November do. Good Stitches quilt

Head over to Lee's to see what everyone is working on!